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Cover Picture: Realizing the Storage of Pressurized Hydrogen in Carbon Nanotubes Sealed with Aqueous Valves (Energy Technol. 5‐6/2013)
Author(s) -
Tang Changyu,
Man Changzhen,
Chen Yungui,
Yang Fei,
Luo Linshan,
Liu ZhiFeng,
Mei Jun,
Lau WoonMing,
Wong KaWai
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
energy technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Reports
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.91
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 2194-4296
pISSN - 2194-4288
DOI - 10.1002/ente.201390008
Subject(s) - hydrogen storage , hydrogen , materials science , gravimetric analysis , hydrogen fuel , renewable energy , carbon nanotube , cryo adsorption , aqueous solution , chemical engineering , waste management , nanotechnology , chemistry , organic chemistry , engineering , electrical engineering
Nanoscale Tanks for Pressurized Hydrogen Storage: Hydrogen has long been recognized as a clean and renewable fuel with great promise, as water is the only by‐product from the consumption of abundantly available hydrogen fuel. However, the practical utilization of hydrogen fuel is severely restricted by the lack of a viable solution for hydrogen storage. In automotive applications, the use of heavy stainless‐steel cylinders of pressurized hydrogen not only reduces the energy efficiency substantially, but also poses a serious safety issue. The Communication by Ka‐wai Wong and colleagues at Chengdu Green Energy and Green Manufacturing R & D Center on page page 309 demonstrates that single‐walled carbon nanotubes can be used to store pressurized hydrogen by using aqueous valves to seal the ends. The storage and release of hydrogen with these nanocapsules was thermally controlled by heating the nanotubes above the melting temperature of the ice. In this proof of concept, hydrogen was stored at a pressure of 5.0 MPa without significant leakage. Preliminary estimation reveals that an attractive gravimetric energy efficiency as high as 9 % would be achieved at a storage pressure of 1 GPa hydrogen.